Which fridge?

[Photobug]

Best way to do it if you want fridge and freezer is get 2x classic Engels. That seems to be the one fridge that can freeze anything solid.

That's in the consideration. Buy one for now with the thought of buying a second for a freezer if we need/want it down the road. Maybe even a 50 for now with a 30 for later. That could also give us the option of bringing one coolers or the other as needed.

One consideration we are facing is placement of a cooler into our truck. There currently is a 36" by 14" window that is only 16.5" high. I could cut back the cross platform to get a deeper area. I don't want to go much higher than the 16.5 " height. We have often sleep in the back of the truck and would have to climb over the difference above this height.

 

[dreadlocks]

@LandCruiserPhil nothing in particular, a friend got one for home and I liked its finish, dimensions and fan output.. seems to work well so far but ive not got alot of seasons into it.. gonna bolt some rails on it and have it slide in and out of my slide out kitchen, that way I can drain it onto the ground and fill it up from the sink directly above it, want it all bolted in so it wont bounce out and make opening my kitchen a pita.

they all seem the same unless you get something that runs directly off DC, you can get a similar looking unit from Snowmaster for like $800USD if you really hate inverters that much heh.

 

[FJR Colorado]

That's in the consideration. Buy one for now with the thought of buying a second for a freezer if we need/want it down the road. Maybe even a 50 for now with a 30 for later. That could also give us the option of bringing one coolers or the other as needed.

One consideration we are facing is placement of a cooler into our truck. There currently is a 36" by 14" window that is only 16.5" high. I could cut back the cross platform to get a deeper area. I don't want to go much higher than the 16.5 " height. We have often sleep in the back of the truck and would have to climb over the difference above this height.

I have a 75L dual zone from Dometic. Not bad but uses a lot of juice. I beefed up my solar system so no problem.

I have an Engel as well. Currently in use at my off grid cabin. See my review of it. Thing is tough as nails, stupid simple, super efficient, well-proven design. Put it on 3 and it turns gallon jugs of water into ice blocks.

If I ever do a long trip, I'd use it as the freezer and both sides of the Dometic for a fridge.

If I did it again, I would just get 2x Engels.

 

[Photobug]

Dont know where you are and if you would be interested in used but Im thinking of selling my 95DZ with a Dometic slide and insulation cover.

I'm in NW Wyoming but ready for a vacation road trip, not sure where yet. If you are in the PNW it would be easy to convince wife to come visit.

The problem i am having is no room currently for a slider in the truck now without changing everything. This is a pic of the back of my truck right now the junk in the back is left over from a camping/boat repair weekend. Normally the top surface is empty. The soft cooler fits in the "slide out" drawers. Firewood and a second hard cooler goes into the back blank area. This is where a cooler would go. I would alter this area to fit a cooler but in order to get to the slide outs I would have to move the cooler to the ground. I would likely get two folding stools to hold the cooler on/off the ground.

 

[Photobug]

Currently in use at my off grid cabin. See my review of it.

You are my new hero. I want an off grid cabin.

I will check out the review as that is the model highest on my list right now. The amp numbers concern me, although I am suspect of either high or low numbers. I don't trust the low numbers. What I would really like to see is a side by side comparison of different models showing power consumption on the same days using different modes. I would pay a slight premium in power consumption for a dual zone model but not 2-3x power consumption tax.

 

[86scotty]

My huge chest fridge rides in the back seat (folded down) of my Tundra. There's still room for lots of gear and a passenger on one side. Is your truck a crew cab? I originally planned on leaving mine in the truck bed when I switched from van to truck but we prefer it inside for trailheads, parking and keeping out of the dust. No regrets, but I do have a crewmax Tundra with a huge rear cabin.

 

[Photobug]

My huge chest fridge rides in the back seat (folded down) of my Tundra. There's still room for lots of gear and a passenger on one side. Is your truck a crew cab? I originally planned on leaving mine in the truck bed when I switched from van to truck but we prefer it inside for trailheads, parking and keeping out of the dust. No regrets, but I do have a crewmax Tundra with a huge rear cabin.

Long bed, crew crab but not enough space. These guys take up lots of room. Currently we have a division of storage people, dogs, clothes, snacks etc live up in the cab; camping, cooking supplies live in the back.

Our house battery lives in the shell of the truck and is wired to support things like fans lights and fridge. I have considered whatever we get spending road time in the truck bed then moving it to the back seat while in camp.

 

[Photobug]

I have a 75L dual zone from Dometic. Not bad but uses a lot of juice. I beefed up my solar system so no problem.

I have an Engel as well. Currently in use at my off grid cabin. See my review of it. Thing is tough as nails, stupid simple, super efficient, well-proven design. Put it on 3 and it turns gallon jugs of water into ice blocks.

If I ever do a long trip, I'd use it as the freezer and both sides of the Dometic for a fridge.

If I did it again, I would just get 2x Engels.

Having both of them, have you ever run a side by side comparison? What would really be of interest is running the Dometic in the one compartment mode and the Engel at the same temps. Pre chill them using AC then put them outside and see how the power draw compares chilling a comparative load.

 

[dreadlocks]

most people dont have the equipment to make that kinda comparison fairly, you'd need to calibrate em both to the same temps measured at roughly same locations (cant trust those displays at all), fill them both up with the exact same thermal mass, and expose em both to the exact same environment, which means your doing both tests side by side so you need not only one very accurate power counter, but two..

What kinda power system do you currently have, you said you had rather minimal needs so you need to consider availability to expand that... How many AH you got? Any Solar? Any Battery Monitoring of any kind? Most of the people who dont care about how much juice a fridge takes already have a very robust power system that provides so much energy they are not sweating a dozen AH or two.. you should not model after them unless you are also in the same boat...

It took me 3 fridges, 3 rigs, and 3 attempts before I finally got to indefinite boondocking with ICE.. first two times I kept underestimating how much power I needed and how much solar could provide and would eventually end up in a hypermiling situation where I was doing everything I could to keep that fridge going.. you really gotta plan for the worst and hope for the best, planning for the best wont work out.. the variables are always changing, and usually not in your favor.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

@Photobug How do you plan on dealing with the heat gain inside the camper from the fridge?

There are so many variables to determine the efficiency with a fridge. I recently upgraded the fridge condenser fan and it made a difference on run time.

 

[Photobug]

most people dont have the equipment to make that kinda comparison fairly, you'd need to calibrate em both to the same temps measured at roughly same locations (cant trust those displays at all), fill them both up with the exact same thermal mass, and expose em both to the exact same environment, which means your doing both tests side by side so you need not only one very accurate power counter, but two..

What kinda power system do you currently have, you said you had rather minimal needs so you need to consider availability to expand that... How many AH you got? Any Solar? Any Battery Monitoring of any kind?

I am a minimalist in usage but not in design. I have the following gear:

No Battery monitoring except a kill-o-watt
a number of multi-meters including one with an induction clip
I have 3 FLA batteries in a variety of vehicles
Bioneo 60AH LifePO4,
Victron MPPT charger
Two folding 100W solar panels.
I also have a number of different thermometers.
I have a cheap battery monitor but have not installed it waiting on choosing a better one.

I can think of many ways to set up a test, the only thing I am lacking to do a test is two separate fridges.

 

[dreadlocks]

Your LFP & 200W of Solar could run a small power efficient setup comfortably, as long as you can quickly charge that LFP to 100% from your vehicle as needed.. otherwise a couple days w/poor solar and your gonna be in a deficit that's hard to climb out of.

a less efficient setup is gonna require you to get that LFP recharged daily one way or another.

 

[Photobug]

@Photobug How do you plan on dealing with the heat gain inside the camper from the fridge?

There are so many variables to determine the efficiency with a fridge. I recently upgraded the fridge condenser fan and it made a difference on run time.

On the hotest day of the year, it might be near 50 at night. It is often around 40 and 20s and below for the other 9 months of the year, heat from a fridge would be welcome. We are staying more in the tent nowadays. The sound of the compressor worries me more than heat if I share the room with the fridge.

 

[dreadlocks]

one hypermiling technique is when solar is cranking out power to turn the fridge temp down so it runs more and uses that power which would otherwise be discarded, then at night turn the fridge off entirely and coast til morning, effectively using the fridge itself as a battery.. needs far more attention this way and tools to monitor everything with but you can sleep next to it in silence.

 

[Photobug]

a less efficient setup is gonna require you to get that LFP recharged daily one way or another.

I gave my wife the choice 270 awning or fridge first. While the fridge would be a nice upgrade, the awning has been something seriously lacking in our needs. So the awning will come first, so the fridge is just a research project for now.

All my components are designed to be fluid, The boat has a group 24 and the truck has a #27 with a spare #27 I can add to either. The LFP is in a home built goal zero that holds the MPPT and Inverter. My truck also has two massive starter batteries as well. My biggest problem is coordinating all my AHs and charging sources.

When I do get a fridge I will upgrade battery and panels to keep up.